NEA is very concerned that the drafts walk away from the traditional federal role of ensuring that every student has equal opportunity and access to a quality education regardless of where he or she lives.  We must find an appropriate balance of federal and state roles by refocusing on strong state accountability systems while continuing to maintain a sharp federal focus on equity across state and district lines.  Overall, we are concerned that the drafts tip the balance too far toward the states by failing to provide for a clear federal role in ensuring equity for students most in need, namely children living in poverty, English language learners, and students with disabilities.

Specific pros in the drafts include:

• Continuation of the disaggregation of data to track achievement of minority students and students with special needs
• Reduction in some of the federal micromanagement of accountability systems
• Allowing more locally-developed models for turning around struggling schools, rather than a narrow, prescriptive list from a federal level
• Allowance for more appropriate testing of students with disabilities so an IEP team can decide what assessment is educationally appropriate for a particular student
• Better alignment of academic standards and assessments for English Language Learners.

However, the drafts also have some very troubling provisions, including:

• Allowing the potential for federal funds to flow to private schools through vouchers
• Eliminating requirements that states maintain their level of spending on K-12 education
• A continued reliance on standardized testing to measure student achievement without consideration of the multiple measures needed for an accurate and effective accountability system
• Capping the amount of funds that can be used to reduce class sizes
• Problematic federal mandates in the area of teacher evaluation
• Eliminating almost all language protecting collective bargaining and the ability of educators to have a voice in teaching and learning condition.

NEA believes that any reauthorization proposal must be judged by how well it focuses on equity, supports educators, supports struggling schools, and helps ensure that public education thrives.

Take Action Today: Educators working in schools and classrooms across the country are the best and most effective voices to ensure a good ESEA reauthorization bill.  Your experience and expertise are critical to the debates in Congress and policymakers need to hear what you have to say.  Contact your Representative today to give your thoughts about what will work best for your students and school.

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Take Action Today:

• Remind Congress to support school and campus modernization legislation.
• Watch a sneak peak of the CNN segment and behind the scenes video, visit.
• Read more about the segment and leave your comments.

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	The North Carolina Supreme Court, which issued a temporary injunction blocking implementation of a law that would stop the North Carolina Association of Educators from collecting dues from teachers’ paychecks via payroll deduction.  The law was approved last week by Republican state legislators in a surprise midnight session.
	The Obama Administration and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, which has issued a notice of intent to change regulations to reduce the amount of time U.S. citizens are separated from their families while their families members go through the process to become legal residents of the United States.

Jeers to:

	Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who this week, as millions of Americans continue to struggle, joked that he likes to “fire people.”
	State legislators in Indiana and New Hampshire, who continue to push anti-worker, anti-union “right to work” laws that research shows will create few jobs while lowering wages and benefits.

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